Dozens of informants of the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) abroad have been caught, killed or worked as double agents in recent years, as per New York Times, which has accessed a note sent by counterintelligence officials to the CIA’s overseas stations last week.
As per the paper, information on the note of the CIA’s counterintelligence centre, it was stated that they had identified dozens of foreign informants who were killed, arrested or possibly turned into a double agent in the last few years.
As per the memo, countries such as Russia, China, Iran and Pakistan hunted CIA informants and turned some into double agents, while the agency was quick to rely on informants when recruiting, underestimated foreign intelligence and was hasty in hiring.
As per the note, foreign intelligence used many innovative technologies, including biometrics, to track CIA Agents and their sources.
The case officers of the CIA are promoted based on their informant recruitment abilities and not for ascertaining the credibility of the informant.
The loss of informants is a part of the trade, but the note displays the gravity of the problem.